At 8:00, here are the latest news: Xibei gets an investment from a billionaire worth 9.5 billion yuan; The three major airlines issue an announcement that passengers can get a free refund if they buy tickets at a higher price; "Liu Wenxiang" Malatang issues an apology statement.
Today's Hotspot Guide
Alibaba Establishes New Business Group: Alibaba Token Hub
iPhone to Support Split-Screen Function for the First Time, Exclusive to iPhone Fold
Yonghui Sends an Open Letter to Sam's Club
vivo and iQOO Announce Price Increases
Zhipu Announces a 20% Price Increase for New Model API
Top 3 Big News
Xibei Gets Investment from a Billionaire Worth 9.5 Billion Yuan
Public information shows that industrial and commercial changes have taken place in Inner Mongolia Xibei Catering Group Co., Ltd. Lin Lairong has been added as a new shareholder, and the registered capital has increased from approximately 102 million RMB to about 104 million RMB.
Inner Mongolia Xibei Catering Group Co., Ltd. was established in October 2017, with Jia Guolong as the legal representative. Its business scope includes catering services, food production, online food sales, catering management, etc. Shareholder information shows that the company is currently jointly held by Beijing Xibei Enterprise Management Co., Ltd., Jia Guolong and the above - mentioned new shareholder. Public information shows that Lin Lairong is the founder of Zhongxing Group and the actual controller of Dazhong Mining. He made it onto the Hurun Global Rich List in 2025 with a fortune of 9.5 billion yuan. (Yicai Global)
Three major airlines announce free ticket refunds if overpriced
Recently, three major airlines in China, Air China, China Eastern Airlines, and China Southern Airlines, simultaneously issued announcements, stating that they will jointly safeguard the ticket - purchasing rights and interests of passengers. The announcements clearly state that if passengers find that third - party sales platforms engage in illegal activities such as overpricing tickets or tampering with itineraries after purchasing tickets, they can report to the airlines and get the price difference refunded.
If the ticket price drops after purchase, passengers can refund their tickets for free within the specified time and repurchase them. If passengers encounter overpriced ticket sales, the airlines will refund the price difference and hold the sales agents accountable. After purchasing tickets through third - party platforms, if passengers want to know whether their tickets have been overpriced or the itineraries have been tampered with, they can log in to the official apps of the airlines or the mini - programs on WeChat and Alipay to query and verify the ticket information. If it is verified that the third - party platforms have engaged in activities such as overpricing tickets, tampering with itineraries, or overcharging for ticket refund and change fees, passengers can directly report to the airlines. Once verified, the airlines will refund the price difference losses to passengers and hold the relevant sales agents accountable. After purchasing tickets, if passengers find that the ticket price has dropped, they can apply for a free ticket refund through the official channels of the airlines and repurchase low - priced tickets after the refund to protect their own rights and interests. (CCTV News, Kuaikeji)
"Liu Wenxiang" Malatang Issues an Apology after Being Exposed for Using Duck Meat to Pass off as Pork and Beef
Recently, the topic of "Liu Wenxiang selling duck meat as pork and beef" has hit the hot search. Media investigations show that many Liu Wenxiang stores in Xiamen and Zhangzhou, Fujian, have problems such as using inferior ingredients to replace high - quality ones and having chaotic ingredient labeling. Xiamen stores labeled duck and fat - beef rolls as beef, and in Zhangzhou stores, many ingredients labeled as pork and beef actually had duck meat as the main ingredient.
On March 16th, Liu Wenxiang (Shandong) Brand Management Co., Ltd. issued an apology letter, announcing the immediate launch of a comprehensive rectification plan. It will immediately terminate cooperation with the involved stores, seal up and destroy all the problematic ingredients, cooperate with the market supervision department in the investigation, and bear legal responsibilities. All stores across the country will conduct a comprehensive self - inspection and self - correction, focusing on verifying the source of ingredients, qualification certificates, storage and processing, and label labeling. Unqualified stores will be shut down. Network monitoring will be gradually installed in all stores across the country to monitor the back - kitchen status of each store in real - time. (Jiemian News)
Large Companies/ Major Events
Alibaba Establishes New Business Group: Alibaba Token Hub
On March 16, Alibaba officially established the Alibaba Token Hub (ATH) business group, setting up a new organization with the core goals of "creating tokens, distributing tokens, and applying tokens". It is directly under the charge of Alibaba CEO Wu Yongming.
Alibaba Token Hub includes Tongyi Laboratory, the MaaS business line, Qianwen Division, Wukong Division, and the AI Innovation Division. (Yicai Global)
iPhone will support the split-screen function for the first time, exclusive to iPhone Fold
According to Sina Technology, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman revealed on March 16 that Apple's first foldable iPhone will be equipped with the iOS 27 system, and for the first time in iPhone history, it will natively support the split-screen function. iOS 27 is deeply optimized for the foldable screen: after unfolding, the app automatically switches to an iPad-like interface, with a new left sidebar added; it supports the parallel operation of two apps on the left and right, and allows users to drag pictures, texts, and files across apps, providing an experience similar to that of an iPad mini. This split-screen function is exclusive to iPhone Fold, and ordinary iPhones do not support it for the time being, nor do they come with the Stage Manager feature of iPads.
iPhone Fold is expected to be released in September 2026 along with the iPhone 18 series. It will have an approximately 7.8-inch inner screen and a 5.5-inch outer screen. (Sina Technology)
Yonghui Issues an Open Letter to Sam's Club: Stop Forcing Suppliers into an "Either-Or" Choice
On March 16th, "Quality Yonghui", the private - label brand of Yonghui Superstores, issued an open letter to Sam's Club. The letter mainly called on Sam's Club to stop forcing suppliers into an "either - or" choice. It stated a firm opposition to unfair competition and emphasized that Sam's Club should regulate its team's code of conduct and focus on its own quality improvement. (Yicai Global)
Banu Mao Du Hot Pot Announces Unconditional Opening of Central Kitchen to the Industry
On March 16th, Banu Mao Du Hot Pot issued a statement announcing that, starting today, it will unconditionally open its central kitchen to the industry, disclose the entire processing procedure of Mao Du, share safety and process standards, and designate the 15th of each month as the Central Kitchen Open Day. The company will reveal the full process of Mao Du technology, from research and development, production, and processing to warehousing and logistics. Industry peers are welcome to visit for exchange. (Sina Technology)
Emirates Suspends Operations, Multiple Flights from China to Dubai Are Diverted
On March 16 local time, a sudden fire broke out at an oil tank facility near Dubai International Airport (DXB) in the United Arab Emirates. It was initially determined to be a drone attack. Flights at Dubai International Airport were temporarily grounded, and Emirates announced the suspension of flight operations. Some flights originally scheduled for that day were cancelled. On the same day, multiple flights from China to Dubai were diverted to other airports. Among them, Flight EK363 from Guangzhou to Dubai, Flight EK303 from Shanghai to Dubai, and Flight EK329 from Shenzhen to Dubai have been diverted to Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC), and Flight EK307 from Beijing to Dubai was diverted to Muscat. Previously, flights from domestic airlines to Dubai had been suspended until the end of the month, and only Emirates' flights were still operating. (Yicai Global)
Zhipu Announces a 20% Price Hike for New Model APIs
On March 16th, Zhipu announced the release of the base model GLM - 5 - Turbo for the OpenClaw lobster scenario. It is also Zhipu's first closed - source model since 2025. At the same time, it raised the price of the new model API by 20%, which is Zhipu's second price increase recently. Roughly calculated, the price of Zhipu's API has increased by 83% in the first quarter of 2026. At the opening on March 16th, Zhipu's stock price rose by more than 13%. As of press time, the increase has fallen back to 7.83%. (Yicai Global)
vivo and iQOO Announce Price Increases
On March 16th, vivo released a "Statement on the Adjustment of the Recommended Retail Prices of Some vivo and iQOO Products", stating that affected by the continuous and substantial increase in global semiconductor and storage costs, after careful evaluation, vivo will adjust the recommended retail prices of some products starting from 10:00 on March 18th, 2026. The specific models and prices shall be subject to the display on the official product detail pages. According to Shangguan News, on March 11th, a media reporter learned from a mobile phone counter in a large shopping mall in Beijing that the price of a high - end vivo model had increased by 500 yuan, and the salesperson said that other models would also see price increases in the future. (Jiemian News, Shangguan News)
Topaz Technology Reaches Reconciliation with Pop Mart
Recently, the issues related to the IP copyright of Pop Mart on the MakerWorld platform under Topaz Technology have attracted extensive attention and discussions from all sectors of society. In response, a person close to Topaz Technology told reporters that Topaz has conducted friendly consultations with Pop Mart and reached a reconciliation, and the relevant content has been completely taken down. (Jiemian News)
The minimum down payment ratio is reduced to 30%. Shanghai adjusts the ratio of commercial real - estate purchase loans
On March 16, the Shanghai Branch of the People's Bank of China, in conjunction with the Shanghai Bureau of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, issued the "Notice on Adjusting the Policy of the Minimum Down Payment Ratio for Commercial Real - Estate Purchase Loans in Shanghai", making the following adjustments to the commercial real - estate purchase loan policy in Shanghai: Starting from March 16, 2026, the minimum down payment ratio for commercial real - estate (including "residential - commercial dual - use properties") purchase loans in Shanghai is adjusted to no less than 30%. Banking financial institutions within the jurisdiction should, in accordance with the lower - limit requirements stipulated in this notice and in combination with factors such as the institution's operating conditions and the customer's risk status, reasonably determine the specific down payment ratio for each loan. In the specific implementation, each bank needs to fully consider factors such as ongoing transactions to truly facilitate the people. (Jiemian News)
Tech giants such as Google, Amazon, and OpenAI sign new commitment to combat global fraud
It is reported that eight major US technology companies, including Google, Amazon, and OpenAI, have signed a new commitment, promising to share threat intelligence about scammers abusing their services. According to the draft agreement, the agreement aims to: clarify how the signatories will collaborate across platforms to combat scammers; and promote the formation of a joint force among the industry, governments, law enforcement agencies, non - governmental organizations, etc. to jointly address fraud. (Sina Finance)
The state-owned oil giant in the UAE, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, was forced to implement a wide - scale production halt.
The state-owned oil giant in the UAE, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, was forced to implement a wide - scale production halt, and the country's daily crude oil production dropped by more than half. (Caixin Press)
Spot silver drops more than 4%, spot gold drops more than 1%
36Kr learned that the decline of international precious metals has widened. Spot silver has dropped more than 4%, reporting at $77.21 per ounce, and spot gold has dropped more than 1%, reporting at $4,976.05 per ounce.
ST Kailida: The company and its chairman, Gu Yiming, are suspected of illegal and irregular information disclosure and have been filed by the CSRC
36Kr learned that ST Kailida announced that the company and its chairman, Gu Yiming, recently received the "Notice of Case Filing" issued by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). Due to suspected illegal and irregular information disclosure, in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, the CSRC decided to file a case against the company and Gu Yiming. At present, the company's production and operation are normal, and this case investigation will not affect the company's normal production and business activities. The company will actively cooperate with the investigation and strictly fulfill its obligation of information disclosure.
Samsung: Memory shortage expected to end in 2028
The global storage industry is in a super cycle of explosive demand for artificial intelligence. However, as time goes by, major storage producers represented by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are re - evaluating the market supply - demand balance and adopting a more cautious expansion strategy. Reports indicate that Samsung expects the memory shortage to end in 2028, which means the company needs to adjust its production capacity plan based on demand forecasts to avoid over - expansion. SK Hynix also previously stated that they will remain cautious in expanding production capacity. (Cailian Press)
The world's largest bauxite producer plans to restrict supply to support prices
On March 17th, Guinea, the world's largest bauxite producer, is discussing with mining companies to control the supply of ore in the market to protect the country from the impact of price drops. Bounah Sylla, the country's Minister of Mines and Geology, said, "This policy aims to regulate bauxite production to prevent price drops and thus avoid a reduction in corporate revenues and government tax revenues." He said that the government had discussed this issue with the mining industry association on March 12th. Bauxite prices have almost halved since the beginning of 2025. Guinea's exports surged by more than a quarter last year, reaching 183 million tons. Sylla said that Guinea is urging mining companies not to exceed the production levels stipulated in their mine plans and government agreements. "This decision will take effect in the coming weeks, with the aim of keeping production and exports in 2026 in line with the levels set in the feasibility study." Sylla also said, "We are not going to ban exports, but we hope to regulate the production and export of bauxite." Guinea also hopes that more bauxite can be processed into alumina domestically. (JIN10 Data)
The three major U.S. stock indexes closed higher collectively, with Arm up more than 5%
36Kr learned that at the close on March 16, the three major U.S. stock indexes rose collectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.83%, the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.22%, and the S&P 500 Index rose 1.01%. Most large technology stocks rose. Arm was up more than 5%, Meta was up more than 2%, and NVIDIA, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, and Tesla were up more than 1%; Netflix fell slightly. Among popular Chinese concept stocks, the performance was mixed. Tencent Music was up more than 6%, Li Auto was up more than 5%, NIO and NetEase were up more than 2%, Alibaba, Pinduoduo, and Bilibili were up more than 1%; Baidu and iQiyi fell more than 1%, and Weibo fell slightly.
Xu Simin Takes over as Director of Hangzhou Wahaha Health Food Co., Ltd.
36Kr learned that according to the Aiqicha App, recently, industrial and commercial changes have taken place in Hangzhou Wahaha Health Food Co., Ltd. Zong Qinghou stepped down as the legal representative and chairman, and Pan Jiajie stepped down as the general manager. Xu Simin has been appointed as the legal representative, director, and manager. Hangzhou Wahaha Health Food Co., Ltd. was established in February 1996, with a registered capital of approximately 200 million yuan. Its business scope includes food sales, agricultural and sideline product sales, food additive sales, etc. Shareholder information shows that the company is jointly held by Hangzhou Hongzhen Investment Co., Ltd., Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co., Ltd., and Zhejiang Wahaha Industrial Co., Ltd.
Going Public in Progress
Haiqing Zhiyuan
36Kr learned that according to documents from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, on March 16, Shenzhen Haiqing Zhiyuan Technology Co., Ltd. submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The joint sponsors are China Minsheng Investment Banking Corporation Limited and SPDB International.
Putailai
36Kr learned that according to documents from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, on March 16, Shanghai Putailai New Energy Technology Group Co., Ltd. submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. CICC is the sole sponsor.
BioMap
BioMap, a life - science artificial intelligence large - model company founded under the support of Baidu and led by Robin Li, has secretly submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is expected to raise hundreds of millions of US dollars through this. As of the time of publication, Baidu has not responded. In June last year, Liu Wei, the CEO of BioMap, said that the company planned to actively seek a public listing in Hong Kong within about a year and a half. (Yicai Global)
SmartMore Inc.
36Kr learned that according to documents from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, SmartMore Inc. submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The Cutting - Edge of AI
OpenAI Confirms ChatGPT Ads Are Limited to the US Market: No Global Rollout Plan for Now
On March 16th, according to a report by bleepingcomputer, in response to recent speculations about the expansion of ChatGPT ads to global users, OpenAI officially clarified that its advertising business is still strictly limited to the United States, and there is no specific plan to launch it globally. Although the updated privacy policy mentions advertising - related terms, which have raised concerns among some users, OpenAI confirmed to foreign media that this is only a legal preparation for future possibilities and does not represent the immediate globalization of advertising services. It is reported that OpenAI first launched the ChatGPT advertising feature in the United States on February 9, 2026, and adopted a prudent strategy of gradually expanding the coverage. (Global Times)
The Ministry of State Security Releases the "Lobster" Safe Breeding Manual
36Kr learned that according to the WeChat official account of the "Ministry of State Security", OpenClaw (nicknamed "Lobster") is an open - source AI agent tool. It quickly grew into a phenomenal "open - source miracle" in 2026 shortly after its launch. Many users have gone from paying to install "Lobster" to paying to uninstall it. Raising "Lobster" is becoming a frenzy among agents. However, while the popular "Lobster" is innovating and changing lives, it also has inherent risks. It is specially reminded that users should rationally distinguish and use it in a standardized manner, embrace the era of artificial intelligence with a positive attitude and careful implementation, and make "Lobster" a "digital employee" that abides by regulations and is highly productive.
Encyclopaedia Britannica Sues OpenAI Over AI Training Issues
Encyclopaedia Britannica and its subsidiary Merriam - Webster have sued OpenAI in the Manhattan federal court, accusing the company of misusing their reference materials to train artificial intelligence models. Encyclopaedia Britannica said in a lawsuit filed on Friday that OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft, used its online articles, encyclopedia entries, and dictionary entries to train its flagship chatbot ChatGPT, enabling it to respond to user instructions. Moreover, the content summaries generated by AI "eroded" the website traffic of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (Sina Finance)
OpenAI is in talks with multiple private equity firms to establish a joint venture, with a pre - investment valuation of approximately $10 billion
According to sources, OpenAI is in in - depth discussions with multiple private equity firms such as TPG, Bain Capital, Advent International, and Brookfield to establish a joint venture. The aim is to promote its enterprise products to the portfolio companies of these firms and other sectors. It is understood that the pre - investment valuation of the proposed deal is approximately $10 billion. Under the proposed plan, private equity investors will invest around $4 billion and acquire equity in the joint venture. They will also have an influence on how OpenAI's technology is deployed in their portfolio companies. (Jiemian News)
Weekly Call Volume of Domestic Large Models Exceeds that of U.S. Models Again
On March 16, a reporter from Yicai noticed that OpenRouter, a global large model aggregation routing platform for AI application developers, showed that the weekly call volume of domestic large models has exceeded that of U.S. large model products for two consecutive weeks.
Data shows that in the week of March 9, among the top nine models in global model call volume, four publicly identified domestic models occupied the top three spots. They were MiniMax M2.5 with a call volume of 1.75T, Step 3.5 Flash of Jieyue Xingchen Model with a call volume of 1.34T, DeepSeek V3.2 with a call volume of 1.04T, and Kimi K2.5 ranked ninth. The overall weekly call volume of domestic models was about 4.69T, a 11.82% increase from last week's 4.194T.
In contrast, the weekly call volume of U.S. large AI models was 3.294 trillion Tokens, a 9.33% decline from the previous week. Specific models included Gemini 3 Flash Preview, Claude Sonnet 4.6, Claude Opus 4.6, and Gemini 2.5 Flash. OpenAI series models did not make it into the top ten. (Yicai)
Financial Reports of Big Companies
Wanhua Chemical: Net profit of 12.527 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year decrease of 3.88%
36Kr learned that Wanhua Chemical released its performance report. In 2025, it achieved a total operating income of 203.235 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.62%; the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 12.527 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 3.88%.
Leapmotor: Net profit of 540 million yuan in 2025, a loss of 2.82 billion yuan in the same period of the previous year
36Kr learned that Leapmotor announced that its revenue in 2025 was 64.73 billion yuan, compared with 32.16 billion yuan in the same period of the previous year. In 2025, the net profit attributable to the owners of the Company was 540 million yuan, compared with a loss of 2.82 billion yuan in the same period of the previous year.
Investment and Financing
"NewBond Biotech" Completes Over 100 Million Yuan Series C Financing
36Kr learned that "NewBond Biotech" recently announced the completion of over 100 million yuan in Series C financing. This round of financing was led by Mingxi Capital, with Optics Valley Industry Investment participating, and existing shareholders Yida Capital and Huaxi Yuanyou Fund continuing to increase their investment. The financing funds will be mainly used for the establishment of new technology platforms, capacity expansion, and the deepening of the global commercialization map.
"Lips" Completes Hundreds of Millions Yuan in Pre - B+ Round of Financing
36Kr learned that "Lips", a high - performance SiC (silicon carbide) module manufacturer, recently completed a Pre - B+ round of financing worth hundreds of millions of yuan. The new investors are Yangzhou Guojin and Yangzhou Longtou Capital. The funds will be mainly used for the company to establish a professional automotive - grade SiC (silicon carbide) module packaging and testing base in Yangzhou and for market promotion.
“Dong You Ji” under Chunhui Tourism Group Completes $9 Million Angel Round of Financing
36Kr learned that recently, “Dong You Ji”, a full - scale cultural, tourism and business ecological platform under Chunhui Tourism Group, announced the completion of a $9 million angel round of financing. In this round of financing, 6% of the total share capital was released. The investors include the UK BY block Foundation, an institution in Hong Kong and an angel investor. It is understood that this round of financing will be used for platform technology iteration, supply chain system expansion, the construction of a full - scale ecological partner network, brand strategy promotion, the foundation of AI development, the foundation of IP film and television, and the infrastructure construction of web4.0 to accelerate the construction of an integrated ecosystem of “cross - border e - commerce + cultural tourism + film and television IP”.
Langxi Technology Completes Nearly 80 Million Yuan in Pre-A Round Financing
36Kr learned that on March 16th, "Langxi Technology" announced the completion of nearly 80 million yuan in Pre-A round financing. The investors in this round include multiple institutions such as Orient Fortune Capital, Jinpu Intelligence, Sparrow Investment, and Matrix Partners China. The raised funds will be mainly used for the R & D of high-capacitance silicon capacitor products, the improvement of large-scale production capacity, and the layout in the field of advanced packaging.
Compiled | Zixin Xu